“On My Way to You”: How Cody Johnson almost missed his chance to open for George Strait at Gillette Stadium

On August 17, Cody Johnson will mark a major career milestone, as he opens for Blake Shelton and George Strait at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.

But the "On My Way to You" hitmaker reveals it almost didn't happen.

"It was kind of a purgatory moment for about a week because we had a sold-out show in Austin, Texas for about ten-thousand people on the same day..." Cody tells ABC Radio. "And so it took about a week to figure out whether we could switch our Saturday to a Friday. And I was fully prepared to say 'Sorry guys. We can't come open for Strait, because we're not gonna bail on these people.'"

"I think God paid us back by letting us," Cody laughs. "We got it switched to Friday. So we were like, 'Yes! Now we can! We're going to Gillette.'"

Cody and King George are huge in the Lone Star State, so it's easy to assume they know each other. But Cody says that's not the case.

"It's so weird how everybody thinks we're like friends. And it's not that way," he explains. "Texas is a big state, and...I'm not the guy who goes and knocks on doors and says, 'Hey, can I meet this person?' Because I like my privacy, so I leave people alone."

The Ain't Nothin' To It singer says he's honored to get to share the stage with two of his heroes.

"Blake Shelton and George Strait, bar none, have been unapologetically themselves no matter what this industry has done, whether it's chewed 'em up, spit 'em out or loved 'em," Cody observes. "And I admire that about those guys."

Tickets for the August 17 show at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts are on sale now.